Anthropometric approaches to detect the risk of vitamin D deficiency and hypovitaminosis in children | Ukrainian Medical Journal

The article presents an analytical review of the main methods for identifying the risk of vitamin D insufficiency and hypovitaminosis in children from the perspective of their suitability for building a hygienic monitoring system. The relevance of the topic is determined by the high prevalence of reduced vitamin D status in the pediatric population, the limited feasibility of universal laboratory screening, and the need to develop stepwise models for the targeted selection of children for biochemical examination. The aim of the article was to substantiate the feasibility of using anthropometric, questionnaire-based, dietary, and biochemical methods for identifying the risk of vitamin D insufficiency and hypovitaminosis in children and to determine their place in the hygienic monitoring system. The review was conducted as a structured analytical narrative review. Contemporary international and Ukrainian studies devoted to anthropometric indicators of obesity, socio-hygienic factors, dietary intake assessment, laboratory verification of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and the integration of these blocks into stepwise screening models were analyzed. The literature synthesis showed that anthropometric indicators are an appropriate primary screening tool, questionnaires and dietary assessment help to clarify behavioral and nutritional risks, while laboratory determination of 25-hydroxyvitamin D should serve as a confirmatory stage in high-risk groups. The most substantiated approach for the pediatric population is a stepwise monitoring model that combines accessible indirect indicators with targeted biochemical verification. The obtained results may be used as a methodological basis for developing regional programs of hygienic monitoring of vitamin D status in children.

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